FTSE flies higher as BA surges, but Tullow slides on dry well in Ghana

Leading shares have moved higher ahead of UK retail sales and US weekly jobless figures, but there are a couple of notable exceptions.

Tullow Oil is down 39p at £12.14 after the company said a well off the shore of Ghana had failed to hit oil, encountering water bearing reservoirs. Tullow's exploration director Angus McCoss tried to put a brave face on it:

The negative test of the Campanian reservoirs in the Onyina prospect enables further refinement of our exploration and relinquishment strategy offshore Ghana. Good quality Campanian reservoir sands were found as predicted, however the lack of hydrocarbons at this location highlights the high risks of charging and trapping oil in this secondary play.

The company's broker, RBS, said:

The unsuccessful Onyina-1 exploration well means we lower our target price from 1475p to 1460p. Given the high profile of the well, we feel the market may view the result as particularly disappointing, although the attractiveness of the wider E&A [exploration and appraisal] programme could create a buying opportunity if the share price overreacts.

Tullow is not the worst performer in the FTSE 100. That dishonour goes to Tui Travel, down 15.5p to 214.9p after it said it was having to restate its 2009 accounts, having found £117m owed by customers. Its finance director has resigned.

Overall the FTSE 100 is up 36.27 points at 5765.20 after a strong performance on Wall Street and despite a slight dip in Asian markets after China reported a slowdown in growth.

British Airways is 11.7p better at 289.8p after good results from a number of US rivals, including Delta Air Lines and US Airways. The UK airline has also made a new proposal to cabin crew in an attempt to end the long running dispute.